It’s mid-June. Your accountant has emailed twice. You have a folder on your desktop called ‘Tax Stuff 2026’ and it contains exactly three receipts and a screenshot of something you’ve already forgotten. Sound familiar?
You’re not alone and more importantly, you’re not out of time yet. But you do need to move.
End of Financial Year (EOFY) comes around the same time every year, and yet it still catches business owners off guard. The day-to-day of running a business is relentless, and EOFY prep tends to be the thing that keeps getting pushed until it can’t be pushed any further. And according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the majority of Australian small businesses cite time pressure and administrative burden as their biggest compliance challenges.
This is a practical guide to the EOFY tips for small business owners that actually matter when you’re working against the clock. What to do first, what’s still salvageable, and what you genuinely cannot afford to miss.
Don’t Let Panic Make the Decisions
The worst EOFY mistakes aren’t made by people who ran out of time. They’re made by people who panicked and either rushed through things incorrectly or did nothing at all.
Take a breath. Then work through this in order.
1. Reconcile Your Books Right Now
Before you can claim anything, your accounts need to actually reflect what happened. If your books are a mess, everything else on this list gets harder.
Log in to Xero and check that your bank feeds are reconciled, your income is correctly recorded, and your expenses are categorised. If you’ve been using your personal card for business expenses throughout the year, now is the time to go through those statements and pull out what’s legitimate.
It’s not fun work but it’s the foundation everything else sits on and your accountant will thank you for it.
2. Don’t Miss the $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off
This one has a hard deadline in order to claim for the 2026 financial year. The $20,000 instant asset write-off which allows eligible small businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of assets rather than depreciating them over time applies to assets first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2026.
According to the ATO, this threshold applies to businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million.
If you’ve been sitting on a decision about new equipment, a laptop, tools, or any other eligible business asset under $20,000, this is your window. Just make sure the asset is actually received and ready to use before June 30, not just purchased.
3. Pay Your Super Before the Deadline Not After It
Superannuation is one of the most common EOFY traps, and it catches people every single year.
To claim a tax deduction for super contributions in the 2025–26 financial year, the payment must be received by your super fund before 30 June, not just sent. Processing times can take over a week in some cases, so leaving this to just before 30 June is a genuine risk. We recommend processing the super payments for the June quarter now to ensure that this is received by the employee super funds on time.
The super guarantee rate is now 12% of ordinary time earnings. Check your payroll software is set correctly and that all employee contributions are up to date. If you are making personal concessional contributions into your own super fund, the same deadline applies.
Payday Super starts 1 July 2026, which means the old quarterly rhythm changes for the new financial year. Get this financial year’s super sorted cleanly before that transition kicks in.
4. Review What You Can Still Claim
Even if your record-keeping hasn’t been perfect, there are likely legitimate deductions you can still claim. The key is documentation.
Common deductions small business owners miss or underclaim include home office expenses, vehicle use for business purposes, professional subscriptions and memberships, software and technology costs, professional development, and accounting and legal fees.
The ATO’s rule is straightforward: the expense must have been incurred in the course of earning income, and you need to be able to prove it. If you can’t find proof of a deduction in 30 seconds, be cautious about claiming it.
If you’re unsure what’s eligible for your specific situation, this is exactly the kind of conversation worth having with your accountant before June 30.
6. Sort Out Your Payroll Records If You Have Employees
Heading into EOFY with overdue BAS lodgements is a problem you don’t want. The Australian Tax Office If you have staff, your Single Touch Payroll (STP) finalisation is due by 14 July 2026. But getting that right means having clean payroll records before EOFY, not after it.
Check that all pay runs are reconciled, termination payments are correctly coded, and any salary sacrifice arrangements are accurately reported. Your employees can’t lodge their personal tax returns until you’ve finalised your STP data so this is worth treating as a June task rather than a July one.
7. Talk to Your Accountant Even If You’re Not Ready
If you’ve read this far and you’re realising there are gaps, the single best thing you can do right now is pick up the phone.
Accountants expect the last-minute calls. It’s part of the job. What they can do for you in the lead-up to June 30 is significantly more useful than what they can do in July, when the financial year has already closed and the decisions are made.
Even a 30-minute conversation with your accountant can surface deductions you didn’t know were available, flag issues before they become penalties, and give you a clear picture of your tax position heading into the new financial year.
Conclusion
Last-minute doesn’t have to mean last place. If you’re heading into the final stretch of June and want to make sure nothing slips through: deductions missed, super late, obligations outstanding, the team at Wardle Partners Accountants & Advisors can help you close the financial year cleanly.
We work with Australian entrepreneurs and small business owners year-round, not just at tax time. But if tax time is where you are right now, let’s make it count.
Book a conversation with Wardle Partners Accountants & Advisors before 30 June.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important EOFY tips for small business owners in Australia?
The highest-priority items before 30 June are: reconcile your books, pay any outstanding super contributions (allowing time for processing), review your eligible deductions, check BAS lodgements are current, and contact your accountant if you’re unsure about your position. The $20,000 instant asset write-off also applies, so any asset purchases need to be finalised and ready for use before that date if you want to claim them in this financial year.
Can I still claim deductions if I haven’t kept great records?
You can claim what you can substantiate. The ATO requires you to keep records for five years from the date of lodgement. If you’ve been using your personal accounts for business expenses, go through your bank and credit card statements now and identify legitimate business costs. For any deduction you can’t document, the risk of claiming it generally outweighs the benefit.
What happens if I miss the 30 June deadline?
Missing 30 June doesn’t mean your tax return is late, most individuals and businesses have until 31 October 2026 to lodge, and tax agent clients often receive extensions into 2027. What it does mean is that certain decisions can no longer be made: super contributions can’t be backdated, asset write-offs apply to the year the asset was first used, and expenses incurred after 30 June fall into the new financial year. The deadline isn’t about lodgement but it’s about the financial year in which things happened.
Is it worth talking to an accountant if EOFY is only a few weeks away?
Absolutely and the sooner the better. There are legitimate tax planning moves that can only happen before 30 June. After that date, your accountant can prepare your return but can’t change what happened during the year. Even a short conversation in the final weeks of June is worth more than a detailed one too late.
